Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO)
Founded in 1904 and therefore the oldest of the city's symphony orchestras, the London Symphony Orchestra became world-renowned for recordings that date back to early gramophone records in 1912. Amid decades of diverse classical programming that followed, including performances for radio and TV, the orchestra also became known for its appearances in numerous film scores, including the Star Wars series. The LSO also tours and first visited North America in 1912 (narrowly avoiding passage on the Titanic).
The ensemble's direct antecedent was the Queen's Hall Orchestra, formed in 1895 for conductor Henry Wood's series of Promenade Concerts. The summer series was so successful that a series of weekly Sunday afternoon concerts was established the same year. The orchestra, however, had never become a permanent group; its members could and often did send other musicians to substitute for them at concerts. In 1904, Wood attempted to end this practice, prompting 46 members to leave and form their own orchestra.
The London Symphony Orchestra was organized as a self-governing corporation administered by a board selected by the players. They arranged for the great Hans Richter to conduct the inaugural concert, and continued to engage a variety of conductors, practically introducing the concept of the guest conductor to the London musical scene. Soon, though, the title and post of principal conductor was established for Richter. The LSO's connection with the BBC goes back to 1924 when Ralph Vaughan Williams conducted the orchestra in the premiere broadcast performance of his Pastoral Symphony. It was the unofficial orchestra in residence for the BBC until the formation of the BBC Symphony in 1930 and continued to broadcast concerts and provide background music for many BBC productions. Other conductors most associated with the orchestra's first few decades include Edward Elgar and Thomas Beecham. During World War II, Wood was welcomed for a series of concerts.
The War took its toll on orchestra membership as it had the general populace, and a concurrent drop in private funding led to increased reliance on the state arts council. This eventually led to structural reorganization in the 1950s, resulting in increased professional standards and the abandonment of profit-sharing; players became salaried employees. The revamped orchestra made only its second tour of the United States in 1963 (the first had been in 1912), and in 1964 embarked on its first world tour. In the mid-1960s the city of London broke ground for the Barbican Arts Centre, intended as the LSO's permanent home. The building was an architectural and acoustic success, and since 1982 has provided the orchestra the solid base it lacked during the first 70-plus years of its existence. The venue opened under principal conductor Claudio Abbado, who took over for André Previn in 1979.
In the meantime, the orchestra made its Star Wars debut, performing John Williams' score for the original 1977 film. While the organization had recorded its first film score in 1935 (H.G. Wells' Things to Come) and appeared in such classics as The Bridge on the River Kwai, Doctor Zhivago, and The Sound of Music, Star Wars won three Grammys, an Academy Award, and a BAFTA, among many other accolades, sold over a million copies in the U.S. and over 100,000 in the U.K., and endures as a touchstone in modern film music. The LSO went on to record music for the franchise's entire first two trilogies as well as films like 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1993's Schindler's List, 1997's Titanic, and select installments of the Harry Potter series.
During the tenure of Colin Davis, who was named principal conductor in 1995, the LSO established its own record label, LSO Live. Dvorák's Symphony No. 9, recorded at Barbican Centre in 1999 and released in 2000, bears catalog number 0001. Their 2000 recording of Berlioz's Les Troyens won two Grammys in 2002, and Verdi's Falstaff took home the Best Opera Grammy in 2006. In 2007, Davis took the position of orchestra president, its first since Leonard Bernstein's passing in 1990, and Valery Gergiev became principal conductor.
Also known for crossing over into rock, jazz, and Broadway, among other categories, they followed hit recordings such as Symphonic Rolling Stones and Gershwin Fantasy (with Joshua Bell) with albums like 2017's Someone to Watch Over Me, which had them accompanying archival recordings of Ella Fitzgerald.
© Marcy Donelson, Joseph Stevenson & Corie Stanton Root /TiVo
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Camille Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 78
Fritz Reiner, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO)
Classical - Released by Music Manager on 22 Jun 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvořák: Symphonies Nos. 2, 5 & 7- 9
Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), Fritz Reiner, The Cleveland Orchestra
Classical - Released by Music Manager on 28 Oct 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Respighi: Masterworks
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by The Golden Legacy of Music on 16 Sep 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 2 in C Minor
Claudio Abbado, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO)
Symphonic Music - Released by ITM Classics on 1 Jan 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture
Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), Fritz Reiner
Classical - Released by 3D Sound Remaster on 11 Jul 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, vol. 20
Norbert Brainin, Fritz Reiner, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO)
Classical - Released by ArnebAudio on 21 Mar 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Liebermann: Concerto pour jazz band et orchestre symphonique - Strauss: Don Juan (Mono Version)
Sauter-Finegan Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), Fritz Reiner
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1957
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Lalo: Symphonie espagnole (Mono Version)
Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), Walter Hendl, Henryk Szeryng
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn, Brahms & Others: Violin Works
Mischa Elman, Wolfgang Rose, Leopold Mittman, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), Desire Defauw
Classical - Released by Biddulph Recordings on 9 Nov 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 34 and 38
Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), Rafael Kubelik
Classical - Released by Naxos Classical Archives on 1 Nov 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Symphony No. 1 "Spring"; Symphony No. 4
Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), Daniel Barenboim
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1977
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Great Classical Music #124 : Johannes Brahms // Maurice Ravel
Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), Paris Conservatoire Orchestra
Classical - Released by Ermitage Records on 16 Apr 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Great Classical Music #57 : Pëtr Iljič Čajkovskij // Max Bruck
Jascha Heifetz, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), Fritz Reiner, David Oïstrakh, London Symphony Orchestra, Lovro von Matacic
Classical - Released by Ermitage Records on 30 Oct 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, Szabelsky, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, Brahms & Glière: Chorale Preludes - Toccata - Prelude in E Flat Minor - Romeo and Juliet Suite - Swan Lake Ballet - Symphony NO. 2 - Symphony NO. 3 (Live)
Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO)
Classical - Released by Altair on 5 Jul 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strauss: Ein Heldenleben
Fritz Reiner, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO)
Classical - Released by Vinyle Numérique on 28 Oct 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43
Arthur Rubinstein, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), Fritz Reiner
Classical - Released by Music Manager on 17 Sep 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54
Van Cliburn, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), Fritz Reiner
Classical - Released by Music Manager on 18 Dec 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cartoon Classical
Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), Fritz Reiner, The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and Karl Jancik
Classical - Released by Music Manager on 10 Nov 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Classique en couleurs
Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), The New York Festival Symphony Orchestra, USSR State Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Music Manager on 22 Dec 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Classical Colors
Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), The New York Festival Symphony Orchestra, USSR State Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Music Manager on 22 Dec 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphony No. 41 In C, K. 551 ("Jupiter")
Fritz Reiner, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Classical - Released by Music Manager on 23 Nov 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo